The Community Cats Podcast

Ever wondered how treating a nonprofit like a business can unlock millions in funding? Join us for an inspiring conversation with Stephanie Mathers, a passionate animal welfare advocate and skilled grant writer, who has transitioned from the world of education to founding Grants for Animals.

Stephanie’s journey began with the adoption of her first cat, Shakespeare, and led her to significant involvement in TNR programs in Michigan. Overcoming numerous challenges, she has since secured over $2 million in funding for animal-related nonprofits, profoundly impacting TNR initiatives and beyond.

Discover the essential steps to getting your nonprofit grant-ready, from solid financial systems to maintaining an up-to-date board member list. Stephanie highlights the importance of building an active online presence and cultivating relationships with grant-giving entities like corporate and community foundations. Learn how understanding their specific grant cycles and requirements can dramatically increase your chances of securing necessary funding. We also discuss various platforms for finding grant opportunities and the significance of treating your nonprofit with the same rigor and professionalism as any thriving business.

Marketing and outreach are crucial, and Stephanie shares effective strategies for animal welfare organizations. Stephanie offers best practices for grant writing, including researching foundation histories and building relationships with funders without compromising your mission.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Funding trap neuter return programs
• Grants for community cat care
• Preparing for grants with necessary documents
• Finding funding for animal welfare organizations
• Prospecting foundation money for cats
• Grant readiness importance for nonprofits

Resources from this Episode

Grants 4 Animals Website - http://www.grants4animals.com

Grants 4 Animals Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/grants4animals

Grants 4 Animals Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/grants4animals

Grants 4 Animals YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@grants4animals

This episode is sponsored in part by Maddie’s Fund (https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/maddies564) and The Community Cat Clinic (https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/catclinicga).

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Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

Interview! Sarah-Jane Farrell, Multi Sensory and Forensic Medical Intuitive

“The trust process is the first step in our ability to trust that we are enough. It is as ancient as humankind.”

Sarah-Jane Farrell is a pragmatic psychologist who specializes in healing trauma through utilizing the animal relationships in our lives. Sarah-Jane grew up in Zimbabwe, where she always felt that animals understood her more than people did. She has always been struck by the animal ability to live in the present moment and only focus on necessities, whereas humans often “live from the head instead of the heart.” To counter this habit, she encourages her clients to trust themselves and their natural instincts, as well as to observe and learn from the animals in their lives. Sarah-Jane has been fortunate enough to study the lions of the Zimbabwe savannah, and has learned much about interdependence and intergenerational wisdom from these majestic wild cats.

Sarah-Jane offers online courses on how to rebuild your “trust process” and harness your innate healing abilities. You can sign up for these courses at accessurtruenature.com, as well as learn a little more about Sarah-Jane and her practice. You can also find a variety of video tutorials on her YouTube channel, or connect with her on Facebook.

Still not convinced? Here are some free demos for helping our feline companions from Sarah-Jane:

Interview! Gavin Ehringer, Author of Leaving the Wild: The Unnatural History of Dogs, Cats, Cows and Horses

“It’s not enough to take care of animals after they’re born, we have to think about their circumstances before the act of breeding even takes place."

Gavin takes a critical look at breeding and how our values shape our animals for good and bad in his new book, Wild. The book actually began about 5 years ago when he got the idea about writing about how animals came to be domesticated. He decided to put his entire life into the book and went out on the road in an RV and did research all over the United States for the book.

He looks at the history of dogs, cats, cows and horses and how they willingly left the wild in exchange for our care, along with how that relates to what they deal with now in modern times. He digs into what the consequences have been to them becoming domesticated.

For instance, with cats, the invention of kitty litter I the 1940’s really changed the game for them becoming an indoor pet. A man was using a similar material to absorb oil on the floor of his garage when a neighbor came over and asked to use it for her cat. Voila, and industry was born! It completely changed the game for cats on becoming indoor pets.

Gavin also found interesting research around the millennial and their cat ownership rates. Cats have only recently surpassed dogs as America’s most popular pet, and more than likely we can than the millennials for that! Because cats are easy to care for and fit into their urban lifestyles very well, adoption rates have skyrocketed with this generation. It also gives them social credibility by adopting through shelters and off the streets.

Believe it or not, Gavin didn’t have a very positive view of community cats before he wrote the book. He viewed them as destroyers of wildlife. But after his research, he learned how TNR can be so effective and can be the long-term solution. He believes the whole community needs to get involved in these issues and there needs to be long-term discussions if they hope to decrease the amount of animals living and suffering on the streets.

To grab Gavin’s book, head over to www.leavingthewild.com.

Interview! Natalise Kalea, CEO of poundWISHES

"We want to save animals, help animals, and better the lives of animals around the world. We aim to execute on our mission through creative innovation and community."

Natalise has always been an animal lover, who always dreamed of using her business skills and put them to good use. Now that she is the CEO of poundWISHES, she is doing exactly that!

Natalise is a graduate of Stanford Graduate School of Business, who did an internship between her first and second years that encouraged her to create an environment of impact in business. When she was younger, she regularly volunteered with Best Friends in Los Angeles, which opened her eyes to how many different programs needed funding. She remembers seeing people take in 5 to 10 animals at a time, which would only put them into debt. Because of this, she wanted to move into a role where she could directly impact the future.

poundWISHES is a crowdfunding platform for animal welfare non-profits that started about 2 1/2 years ago by a little girl who suffered from Leukemia. As a young girl, her family utilized the Make-A-Wish foundation, which always stuck with her. When her family adopted a pet from a shelter when she was 5, she remembered how sad the shelters were and wanted to create a “Make-A-Wish” foundation for them! When she was 12, her and her dad created poundWISHES to help these animals in shelters and elsewhere.

poundWISHES receives crowdfunding request for animals in need who may require surgery, medication, or transport. There are also crowdfunding items for natural disasters, or even things like the creation of a dog park!

It is similar to GoFundMe, but for animals and is much more hands-on. poundWISHES helps rescues craft and optimize their campaigns and shares campaigns to their community of over 90,000 animal lovers. They also highlight campaigns on their social media platforms, which allows shelters to not have to solely depend on themselves to get the word out.

Natalise shares tips on running successful campaigns, such as focusing on the quality and content of the story. Great pictures and videos are a must, along with successfully framing the story to bring an emotional response.

poundWISHES is also working to expand into the e-Commerce industry, similar to an Amazon Wishlist. They are aiming to be a one-stop-shop for rescues so they can strictly focus on the work they have to accomplish at their facility. Donors are able to contribute through physical items, along with monetary donations, allowing rescues to worry less about how they will fundraise and bring needed products and medicine in the door.

Learn more today at poundwishes.com.

Interview! Daniel Spehar, Co-Founder of the Together Initiative for Ohio’s Community Cats

“I hope all of us can focus on a shared goal of fewer community cats instead of focusing on the differences. Let’s focus on the most effective and humane ways to reach our common goal.”

Daniel works to enact animal-friendly legislation as a volunteer with the Humane Society of the United States, along with working with the Together Initiative for Ohio’s Community Cats. This specific group is committed to promoting and facilitating collaboration among community cat stakeholders of around 150 members, who work together to accomplish their goals. They run workshops and events, as well as provide other educational opportunities.

He co-authored two recent published papers about the effectiveness of TNR and how it has reduced free-roaming cat populations and has also been conducting research on community cats and their management since 2013. He will be presenting findings of a Case Study, which examined an iconic TNR Program (Newberry Port) at the 2018 HSUS Expo.

Daniel’s passion for cats began when he was a boy, and in 2003, he had a group of feral kittens move into his yard. He ended up learning how to trap them and learned specifics about TNR and how to help them, and his passion further was ignited. This led him to decide that he wanted to dedicate the rest of his career towards the wellness of animals, specifically cats.

Through his research and case study work, he has learned of so many innovations that have been implemented that have become standard practice in many TNR programs around the country. It has helped to create a kind of “toolkit” for animal welfare, that can be used as a guide. This is what was the inspiration behind the Together Initiative for Ohio’s Community Cats, which has turned into a 2-pronged mission:

1. Education and Outreach
2. Promote and facilite collaboration

Daniel can be reached through his program at communitycatsohio.org, which also has his article available.